Musicians will be amp-ed that these phonies are off the streets.
More than 3,000 fake Gibson guitars that could have been sold for a combined $18.7 million were seized by federal authorities after the typically made-in-America instruments arrived from Asia, officials said Tuesday.
The guitars were shipped to the US by sea and intercepted by Customs and Border Protection officers and Homeland Security Investigations special agents in Los Angeles, as well as other agencies, according to CBP.
Gibson confirmed the guitars were counterfeit because its instruments are only made in the US.
If the fake Gibsons were sold as genuine guitars, they could have gone for as much as $18,742,820, CBP said.
The bust is the largest on record for phony musical instruments, the feds said.
“These fraudulent guitars may look and feel legitimate for unsuspecting consumers buying them from third party online sources, street markets, unauthorized retailers, and person-to-person transactions,” said Cheryl M. Davies, who leads the CBP’s field operations in LA.
“As we approach the busy Holiday shopping season, consumers should pay attention to where they are buying these goods and how much they are paying, and if is too good to be true it probably is.”
A big wig at Gibson called the attempted peddling of fake guitars “really emotional” for the 130-year-old company.
“This is really emotional and personal for us not only because of the protection of our players, but because of our Gibson team at large, including the artisans at our craftories in Nashville, TN and Bozeman, MT, who are generations of American families that have dedicated their entire lives to handcrafting Gibson instruments,” said Beth Heidt, Gibson’s chief marketing officer.